


I never asked for this, I never wanted this

by the_aidangaile



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Child Abuse, Depression, Emotional Manipulation, Eventual Happy Ending, Gen, Prison, Self-Harm, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, i unfortunately have a tendency to abandon wips, please mind the warnings at the start of chapters, sam might seem ooc but i promise he does what he does for a reason, this fic is going to be dark, when i say eventual i mean it might happen if i end up writing that far
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-11 23:55:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29251071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_aidangaile/pseuds/the_aidangaile
Summary: Punz and the others didn't show up to save Tommy and Tubbo. Dream killed Tubbo and imprisoned Tommy. Tommy assumed it was the end, that he'd be forced to spend the rest of eternity in the prison. Dream had other plans.
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s), Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit
Comments: 10
Kudos: 111





	1. What's a day, compared to eternity?

**Author's Note:**

> !!! WARNINGS !!!  
> \- suicidal ideation/attempt  
> \- self harm  
> \- manipulation  
> \- Tubbo is dead
> 
> Title from Evelyn Evelyn which I have listened to almost nonstop since that sad-ist animatic lol

**Day 1**

**It’s not actually day 1. I’ve been here at least 24 hours, but it’s been less than a week. Wherever it falls in between those times, I don’t know. I have a clock, but I haven’t been looking at it. So today can be day 1, because it’s day one of me actually writing in these books. And since I’m going to be stuck in here forever, I guess whichever day is actually day 1 doesn’t matter.**

**I’ve figured out a few things. First, Sam isn’t going to help me. I don’t know if it’s because he doesn’t want to, or because Dream’s forcing him not to. Maybe he just doesn’t care.**

**Second, I can’t die. At least not permanently.** ~~**I’ve tried to**~~ **I slipped into the lava pretty early on because I was staring at it too closely, but I came back right away.**

**Third, no one has come to see me but Dream. I know it hasn’t been long, and that it’s probably a lot shorter outside the prison. Dream has come four times.**

**Fourth, Dream controls whether or not Tubbo comes back. I knew this before the prison, but I figured it should go here, too.**

**Finally, they had a funeral for Tubbo. I wasn’t allowed to go.**

**I miss Tubbo.**

**If he came back as a ghost, Sam hasn’t told me. I don’t know if I want him to come back as a ghost or not.**

**Day 2**

**It’s been longer than a day, I think, but I don’t care. This diary is for me, so I get to choose what a day is. Every time I burn the clock, Sam brings it back, but it’s pointless. I don’t look at it.**

**It’s hot in here, all the time. The lava is burning, even from the back corner of the room. The water I have is so hot I’m surprised it doesn’t boil. It hurts my hands when I put them in the water, but I do it anyway.**

**Day 6**

**I’m sick of potatoes.**

**When Dream visited, I told him I was sick of them, and he told me I should be glad they were baked. The original plan was to give me only raw potatoes.**

**I stopped complaining, but I’m still sick of them.**

**Day 9**

**Don’t think about Tubbo anymore. You’ll start hearing his voice.**

**Day 16**

**Sam has to leave the gate in front of the lava wall up all the time now. He was getting uncomfortable with how many times I jumped into it.**

**The pain was the only real comfort I had, and he took it from me.**

**Day 22**

**Sam didn’t bring the clock back.**

**Day 32**

**Dream told me it’s been almost three months since I was imprisoned. I don’t know how to feel about that. Time feels different here. I guess I’ll have to write entries more often.**

**Day 39**

**I miss people. I told Dream, and he gave me a hug I haven’t had a hug in a long time. He told me not to miss people, because he was there. He’s my friend. And he’s going to bring Tubbo back.**

**No one’s come to visit me.**

**I’m not going to talk to Dream anymore.**

**Day 41**

**Dream is frustrated that I won’t say anything.**

**Day 46**

**I’m being let out.**

* * *

Tommy marched silently behind Dream. The nighttime air was painfully cold. He was so used to the infernal prison cell, which Dream told him he had spent exactly 90 days inside, despite the number he’d put in his diary. In those 90 days, Tommy had forgotten what “cold” was. Now, shivering in the wind, he remembered.

“Cold” was… good. Cold was a good thing. Cold was Techno’s house. Cold was Snowchester (where Tubbo had spent his days leading up to his death, Tommy recalled, then forced it out of his mind. He didn’t think about Tubbo anymore). Cold was painful, but in a different way than heat. Cold was Ghostbur’s hugs, the rain on the bench when no music was played, the nights in Logstedshire when he could forget about the trips to the Nether.

Tommy didn’t know what Dream was doing, but he had been ordered to follow him. He’d followed the man out of the prison, feeling like he was dreaming, but it was real. It was definitely real, because he was taken through the inner workings of the prison, which he’d never seen before. 

He didn’t see Sam anywhere during their exit. He barely noticed, but he did. It was strange. He’d assumed Sam would have been present for an important event like this.

Dream was geared up like he was expecting a fight, and Tommy had nothing. He barely had clothes. He’d been given what were essentially rags by Sam after he burnt through enough outfits. Tommy couldn’t escape if he needed to, he realized, but he didn’t really care.

A part of him wanted Dream to kill him.

They were heading in the direction of L’manburg, Tommy noticed, but he still stayed silent. He didn’t want to talk. He wasn’t going to talk to Dream.

It wasn’t until they arrived at the bench that Tommy realized that Dream wasn’t leading him to L’manburg. He’d led him to the bench for a reason.

Under the tree was a tombstone.

On the tombstone was a name.

**TUBBO**

Tommy looked away.

“Come here, Tommy,” Dream’s voice came from the bench. The man pointed to the vacant spot next to him, which Tommy numbly took. Sitting here with Dream… it was wrong. Tommy hated it. But he didn’t exactly have a choice.

Dream turned to the ender chest and pulled out two discs.

Mellohi began to play when Dream slid it into the jukebox, and the man silently watched Tommy’s expressionless face for several moments.

Tommy felt empty. He didn’t even care that Dream was taunting him with his discs.

Dream made a humming sound. “You know, Tommy, Tubbo wouldn’t have had to die if it wasn’t for these discs.”

Tommy was silent.

“He wouldn’t have had to die if you’d just given up the discs, either. You didn’t have to come after me. You didn’t have to ask him to fight me.”

Silent.

Dream removed Mellohi and started playing Cat.

“But you did. You chose the discs over him, so he had to die.”

Tommy didn’t move. He felt like he was frozen in place. If he so much as breathed, he felt like something bad would happen.

Dream stared at him as hard as possible with his face obscured by his mask. “This is your fault.”

He felt tears, but he fought them back. He couldn’t cry. He couldn’t.

The second disc was removed from the jukebox, and Dream walked away from the bench, over to Tubbo’s grave. He looked down at it, and Tommy snapped. He stood up, marched towards Dream, and pushed him away, disregarding his own safety. He didn’t want Dream looking at Tubbo’s grave. “Get. Away.”

Dream made an unimpressed sound. “So that’s what it took to get you to speak, huh? That’s not okay, Tommy.”

It was hard to breathe again, but Tommy ignored it. “Get away from him.”

Dream exhaled quickly, almost a laugh. “He’s dead, Tommy. You’re not actually still upset about that, are you? It’s been months. Come on.”

Tommy was shaking. He didn’t know what to say, or do, so he just watched as Dream turned away, walking a few steps down the Prime Path away from Tommy’s house. Tommy knew he was supposed to follow, so he did.

He noticed the egg vines, which had been growing near this section of the path, were gone. Maybe Dream had done something to stop that.

“I wanted to give you a chance to say goodbye.”

Tommy didn’t know what Dream meant, so he stayed silent.

They passed by empty, unlit buildings. Despite being the center of everything, the area was never very busy, but it was still eerie to see it so completely abandoned.

When the community house came into view, Tommy was shocked. It was being rebuilt by someone. It wasn’t the same as it had been, but it looked nice. They didn’t go inside, though. At the edge of the lake, Dream brought Tommy to a single wooden button, on the side of a stone block.

Dream looked at Tommy, who stared incredulously at the button. “Tommy, I want you to press this,” he said in an emotionless tone, as if he was bored. As if he was watching something play out from behind a screen, choosing all the different paths in a video game just to see what would happen differently. “I had to hide it here so no one would press it by accident, and so that we would be far enough away. Can’t have you getting hurt.”

Tommy hated buttons.

Buttons were betrayal. Buttons were loss. Buttons were an ending to everything good Tommy had ever had.

_Can’t have you getting hurt._ Something bad was going to happen if he pressed the button.

He pressed the button.

He pressed the button, and heard a distant explosion, in the direction they’d come.

Tommy stared at Dream in shock, then took off running back down the Prime Path, ignoring the way Dream called his name. There was no way he blew it up. No way. No…

He knew it was gone before he even made it up the hill. It wasn’t a big crater, the land where his home and the bench and _Tubbo’s grave_ had been was still higher than Targay, but…

It was gone. It was all gone.

Tubbo’s grave…

“YOU MONSTER, DREAM!” He shouted, using his voice more than he’d used it in three months and feeling it burn, falling to his knees as tears filled his eyes.

He felt a hand land on his shoulder, but he shoved it away hard. “That was all that was left of him! That was- that was his grave, you BASTARD! You had no right to- to-”

“Tommy!” Dream cut him off, and he realized Dream had been saying his name for a while. “Listen to me! I moved his body, alright? I had to move it, to be able to resurrect him one day. Now stop yelling, stop crying, or next time it’ll be his corpse that I’ll blow up!”

Tommy froze.

_“I don’t give a fuck about Spirit!”_

Dream yelling was one of the worst things in the world. It reminded him of one of the worst days of his life.

He figured that today would be going on that list.

Even if Tubbo had been moved, Dream had still taken his house, the one place he actually had left on the server, away from him. He’d taken the bench, with all the memories of private moments with Tubbo with it.

It was all Tommy had left.

Dream grabbed Tommy’s arm and pulled him up. “Come on, Tommy. Stop throwing a fit. I only blew this up to make sure you wouldn’t have a reason to come back here. And I’m bringing Tubbo back anyways, as long as you behave, so you have no reason to be upset. In fact, if you keep acting like this, I won’t bring Tubbo back.”

Tommy couldn’t think. After three months of nothing but a hot dark cell and his own thoughts, everything seemed like it was too much. He didn’t miss the cell, but he’d take it over this. He wanted to curl up in the corner and sleep for days. Dream started walking, though, pulling Tommy along, this time actually heading to L’manburg.

It was still a crater.

To Tommy’s surprise, Dream didn’t make any comments about it. It still felt deliberate, his path, as if he was telling Tommy “look at this, see what you did? This is all your fault” without using words.

They walked around the edge of the hole, Tommy seeing the L’manburg flag at the bottom.

He missed Wilbur. He missed his big brother, even after everything Wilbur eventually did to hurt him. He had never felt so alone than in this moment, with Dream, because even in the cell he knew Sam was there, and even during Logstedshire he’d had Ghostbur. He hadn’t seen his brother’s spectral counterpart in a long time. Not since the day Phil almost killed him, trying to bring Wilbur back.

Dream led Tommy down to the water, and placed a boat. “Get in,” he told Tommy after taking his place at the front.

“...No.” The last time this happened, Dream had taken him to what would become Logstedshire. They were facing the same direction. Surely Dream wasn’t taking him back there, but either way, Tommy did not want to let history repeat itself.

Dream took out his axe.

Tommy got in the boat.

The first third of the trip was silent. It was also enough for Tommy to confirm that they were, in fact, heading back to Logstedshire. Dream eventually broke the silence, though.

“Tommy, there’s going to be new rules, this time.” He paused, like he was expecting Tommy to respond, but he stayed silent, so Dream continued. “First, you are going to do what I say, no matter what it is. If you refuse, or argue, or ask questions, I won’t bring Tubbo back. I’ll find the book and burn it. Understood?”

Tommy nodded slowly.

“Good. Second, you will not go anywhere without my permission. Not the Nether, not mining, not even chopping down trees. If I accompany you somewhere, you will stay where I can see you.”

Nod.

“And finally, no speaking to anyone without permission. That goes for everyone. Ghostbur is not an exception,” Dream added, “Although no one has seen him, unless they just haven’t told me.”

Another slow nod.

Tommy hated the rules. Dream was making him entirely dependent on him. He had no out, no escape, no options that wouldn’t come at the cost of Tubbo’s resurrection.

The ruins of Logstedshire came into view.

Dream hummed. “You’re going to have to set up some tents.”

You. Not we. Dream was going to sit there and watch Tommy build them tents with his bare hands, because he was sadistic and cruel.

Tommy climbed out of the boat and started working, because the sun was already on its way to setting, and Tommy didn’t want to do this in the dark.

He gathered some wood at the edge of the forest, avoiding the crater Dream had created. After a few minutes, he heard Dream make a “huh” sound and looked over to see his tormenter looking at a sign he remembered creating.

Tommyinnit has conquered this land.

Dream broke the sign, and Tommy gathered more wood.

When Tommy had himself situated with the most basic of wooden tools, he started wandering, looking for sheep. Dream gave him some distance as he collected wool, but he was always within his eyesight.

The horizon was pink when Tommy had gathered enough wool. He made a bed first, placing it down some distance away from the ruins of Logstedshire, then began building a tent around it. Dream watched silently.

A skeleton shot at him. Dream took it out, but that didn’t stop the pain he felt in his leg. The arrow had only grazed him, but it hurt, and it was bleeding.

Dream acted like nothing had happened.

Holding back tears from the injury, Tommy completed the tent, though he was slightly short on wool, so he used the remainder of his wood. Dream inspected the tent, crossing his arms.

“It’ll work,” he declared, before facing Tommy. “Now build yours.”

“Huh?” Tommy said instinctively, because he didn’t understand what Dream was saying.

“Ohhh, this is my tent, Tommy.” As if to prove his point, he laid down in the bed.

Tommy shook his head slightly. “You’re… staying here?”

“Well… it’s kinda small and ugly, but I guess it’ll be alright.”

“Wh- no, like… I thought you were leaving me here?”

Dream laughed. “Oh, no, Tommy, I can’t trust you to leave you alone. Remember what happened last time?”

Tommy remembered.

“I’m staying with you, Tommy. You aren’t gonna be alone! Aren’t you glad?”

He was not glad. He felt sick.

He did not tell Dream.

A zombie groaned, and Dream left the bed to kill it. When he returned, he looked at Tommy. “Look, if you don’t have enough stuff to make your own tent tonight, you can take this,” he passed a bed to Tommy, “And sleep over there.” Dream pointed to a spot outside the tent. “You can make your tent in the morning. I don’t care.”

Tommy weighed his options. He could either venture out into the darkness, injured and armorless, or he could sleep just outside of Dream’s tent and hope the man protected him through the night.

He chose the latter.

He could feel Dream’s grin even if it was hidden behind his mask. “Good, Tommy. And make sure to rest that leg,” he noted, “Because we don’t want you having problems tomorrow, right? I’m sure you remember how hard it was out here when you got hurt.”

Tommy was angry. He wanted to kill Dream, right then and there. He wanted to go back, three months ago, and do something more to convince Punz to show up. What he’d done had apparently not been enough, what could he have given Punz in exchange for his help? He didn’t know.

Maybe he should have refused to go after the discs altogether. Kept Tubbo safe.

He stopped those thoughts. He doesn’t think about Tubbo anymore.

He placed down the bed, covering himself in the thin blankets and doing his best to ignore the sounds of monsters surrounding him. He tried to ignore the fact that Dream was _right there_ , and he tried to ignore his thoughts about everything that had taken place.

Sleep didn’t come for a very long time.


	2. Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream has some plans for Tommy's second exile. They surprise Tommy a bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me continuing a wip??? What reality is this /j
> 
> !!! WARNINGS !!!  
> \- suicidal ideation   
> (SERIOUSLY pay attention to this one. There's a paragraph that was honestly triggering to write (after the one sentence paragraph: "Maybe he’d have a purpose for that pillar, afterall.") so skip that Please if you're worried it might trigger you.  
> \- general manipulation/abuse  
> \- victim blaming

Tommy woke up to rain hitting his face.

It hadn’t really hit him until that exact moment that he was actually out of the prison. Everything that had happened the day before had felt like a dream. He hadn’t really been present, then. He was floating from place to place, not really feeling the gravity against his feet or the air in his lungs.

Waking up in Logstedshire proved it hadn’t been a dream. It had been the man who shared a name with the word.

Tommy wrapped the shitty blankets around him, trying to shield himself from the rain as much as possible as he sat up. He saw Dream sleeping in the tent he’d constructed the night before and Jesus, he really had done a shit job. But at least it was enough that Dream seemed dry.

He looked around, trying to take everything in, but he felt nauseous. There was too much happening, with the sound of rain and animals and the waves on the beach not far away, and the abundance of colors, with new things happening in every direction, and it was so  _ bright _ , brighter than the lava had ever seemed to be, and it was all happening, happening, happening, and it was too much, it was  _ too much _ , and Tommy couldn’t breathe-

“Tommy!”

He screamed and fell out of his bed, wincing hard when he landed on his injured leg.

Dream was standing behind him. He didn’t know when that had happened, but he sure hadn’t heard shit. He clutched his chest, trying to stop his heart from pounding so furiously, trying to get control of his lungs again, but it wasn’t working.

“Why are you freaking out?!” Dream demanded, but his voice sounded far away. Tommy felt like his soul had been displaced, floating in another dimension. He wanted… he wanted to be back in the cell. At least there, the world wasn’t overwhelming, and Dream couldn’t sneak up on him, and his house and Tubbo’s grave (he didn’t think about Tubbo) wouldn’t be destroyed (they still would be, but he could pretend that never happened) and he wouldn’t have to be in Logstedshire and be reminded about exile…

He focused on the pillar he’d built with his own hands. Dream was saying something, he thought distantly, but he wasn’t thinking about that. He was thinking about his last day in Logstedshire, or so he’d thought.

Maybe he’d have a purpose for that pillar, afterall.

Somehow, the thought was comforting. Everything was horrible, but he could always end it, if he had to. It definitely wasn’t a good thought, but it was what he used to ground himself, and calm his breathing. Slowly, the world became more bearable, and he was ultimately able to look up at Dream.

The man was not pleased. “Are we finally done having a tantrum?”

The old Tommy would have been confrontational. He wasn’t having a tantrum, he wasn’t a baby, Dream was a bitch and an idiot and he should shove it up his ass. The new Tommy simply nodded. “M’ sorry.”

“Why did you do that?” Dream asked.

Tommy didn’t have an answer. He sat still for several moments, trying to think of something that would satisfy Dream, but ultimately he just shook his head.

Dream made a low, disappointed humming sound. “Well, don’t.”

And that was the end of that conversation.

* * *

A week had passed.

It was easier to keep track of time when the sun was visible, Tommy had realized quickly. In that time, his leg had healed, only to get injured again, worse, when he fell into a cave. He hadn’t meant to, he was getting food because he was out and he tripped.

Dream had been upset anyway. But then he gave Tommy a golden apple to fix it quickly. Tommy didn’t want to take anything from Dream, but he wasn’t allowed to refuse, and his ankle hurt like shit. He bit into the apple and felt better.

“I’m here to take care of you, Tommy. I can’t be letting you get hurt,” Dream told him, helping him to his feet.

The pair walked back to their tents. Tommy’s had been made and Dream’s had been updated. They were decent, about the same quality as his old tent from the first time, the remnants of which had been torn down, and the crater filled.

The rest of the area had been cleaned up, too. The little campsite Ghostbur had built hadn’t been remade, but the hole wasn’t there anymore. The Christmas tree was taken down, because Dream told Tommy it was dumb to keep it. Months had passed since Christmas, and even though it was entering the cold months once again, Dream didn’t want the tree anymore. So the tree was gone. The last memories of MD were taken down, too, which had hurt.

The pillar stayed.

It was hard work, and Dream barely helped. When Tommy worked himself to exhaustion and was on the brink of passing out, Dream would “let” him rest. But never before then.

Tommy barely spoke. He only provided answers to Dream when he knew he would have to. The rest of the time, he was silent.

He didn’t think about Tubbo.

Today, Dream led him into the forest. Not super deep, but deep enough that they were surrounded by trees. Tommy followed silently, not questioning it.

When Dream stopped, he turned around to face Tommy, handing him a simple wooden sword. Tommy stared at it. Dream had blown up or burned every weapon he’d made as soon as he’d made it. Yeah, it was a wooden sword, and it wouldn’t do shit against Dream’s maxed-out netherite, but it was still a sword.

He looked back at Dream, silent, but the question was apparent in his eyes.

“Look, Tommy, you’re terrible at fighting.”

What? Tommy… he knew his skills were nothing compared to Dream, but there had been a time where he’d been proud of his abilities.

Dream continued. “You didn’t stand a chance against me, when you tried to get those discs. You and Tubbo fought me, two on one, with everything you had! And I was barely trying!”

Tommy felt sick. Dream took a step forward.

“And you know what, Tommy? You couldn’t save Tubbo. He’s dead because of you.”

He couldn’t breathe.

It wasn’t a thought Tommy hadn’t had before. No, it was a familiar one. But hearing it from Dream was worse than his conscience.

_ He’s dead because of you. _

It was true, wasn’t it?

Tubbo was dead, and it was Tommy’s fault.

If he’d been better, Tubbo wouldn’t be dead.

Dream took another step forward, close enough now that he placed a hand on Tommy’s shoulder. “Look, I’m  _ sorry _ , Tommy. I’m sorry that you were too weak to save him.”

That… surely that wasn’t right… right?

“I had to kill him, because you were too weak to protect him. He  _ knew _ you were too weak to protect him.”

Protect him? That pushed Tommy to speak for the first time in days. “Tubbo didn’t need  _ fucking _ protection,” he spat at Dream, his voice hoarse.

Dream laughed slightly. “Well, why is he dead, then?”

Tommy tasted metal. It was only then that he realized he’d bitten his lip hard.

He had nothing to say to Dream.

Dream pulled Tommy into a hug. It felt invasive and wrong, but Tommy didn’t resist or pull back. “I’m sorry you weren’t strong enough, Tommy.”

Tommy hated physical contact with anyone outside of a very,  _ very _ short list, and his time in the prison, which lacked even face-to-face interaction with other living beings had furthered his aversion. Yet, he found himself relaxing into the hug as he grew more used to the contact, allowing Dream to rub small circles into his back. It made no sense to him, but it was  _ comforting _ . And Tommy started crying.

Almost immediately, Dream pulled away. “Come on, Tommy. None of that, now. That’s your first lesson,” he said, pulling out his sword. “Don’t show emotion. Don’t give away weaknesses.”

Tommy was confused, and apparently his confusion was visible, because Dream asked why he was confused.

“What ‘lesson’?”

He could feel Dream’s smile. “I’m  _ training _ you, Tommy.”

His confusion grew, and Dream noticed again. “Do you have a question, Tommy?”

“...Why?”

“Why not?”

Dream’s question was an invitation for him to speak more. “If… if you keep me weak, you can stop me from disobeying,” Tommy said truthfully. He had no reason to keep this from Dream. He was sure Dream had already thought about this, but he wanted Dream’s reasoning for himself.

“Well,” Dream said, “You’re not going to disobey, are you? Because if you disobey, Tubbo doesn’t come back.”

Tommy knew he wouldn’t.

Dream shrugged. “Look, I’m not planning on keeping you in Logstedshire too long this time. It was important to keep you here the first time because you would have caused more problems for L’manburg, but L’manburg is gone now. This time, you’re going to help me.”

Tommy opened his mouth to ask a question, but paused, looking at Dream for permission. The masked man nodded, so he asked, “Help you with what?”

Dream shrugged again. “I don’t know, whatever I need help with. I have some… ideas.”

Tommy had a feeling he wouldn’t like Dream’s ideas.

He didn’t have time to think about that, though, because Dream stepped until he was standing behind Tommy, correcting his hold on his sword and fixing his stance. “We’re starting with sword combat, no shields. I’ll be teaching you the basics, and eventually you can move up to shields and axes.”

Tommy nodded slowly, allowing Dream to guide his limbs into the correct position. His time in the prison had significantly weakened him, so he was unsteady and even standing still hurt, but he knew Dream wouldn’t care.

Dream stood in front of him, holding out his sword, and Tommy braced himself to get his ass kicked as the green man rushed forward.

* * *

They trained for months. Tommy gained his strength back, and possibly even gained some, while learning skills he’d never had before. Dream had him focus on balance, agility, and strategy. He gave Tommy tasks that varied from finding an apple in the most efficient way possible to meditating on the beach to tracking Dream in the forest blindfolded. All of these exercises, Dream told him, would make Tommy a better warrior.

And he was.

The odd tasks were not the only thing Tommy had done. He had a strict daily exercise routine every morning, which allowed him to run longer and faster than he’d ever been able to, and made him stronger than he’d thought he could be. He’d been a lanky teenager for a long time. Now, there were muscles forming that were impressive enough that he sometimes found himself marvelling at them.

Every afternoon, he sparred with Dream. For the first few weeks, Dream would emphasize a specific skill, drilling Tommy until he swung his sword the correct way, or until he could jump at the perfect moment to put more power behind his axe, or until he could block attacks with his shield every time. Once he had the basic combat skills down, Dream moved to teach Tommy other skills, like how to find an opponent’s weaknesses and take advantage of them within a matter of seconds.

Tommy had graduated to an iron sword and axe, as well as basic leather armor. He’d improved in skill enough that he could cause significant harm to Dream, even in full netherite. Never enough to kill the man, not even close. But Tommy’s abilities were terrifying. He was almost convinced that, if he were in gear equal to Dream’s, he would be a fair match for the man.

Every evening, Tommy tended to his farm, which Dream had insisted he make after they’d run out of food for the twelfth time. He built up Logstedshire again, leaving the pillar (which Tommy always looked at too long, just like he’d once done with the lava) but forming a small town. Or, what could be a town, if more people were there than just him and Dream, and most evenings Dream left him alone to farm, going elsewhere to take care of his other activities. Leaving him alone.

He missed Ghostbur.

He missed everyone.

Dream had been the only person he’d seen in months. Before that, he’d seen Sam rarely when he’d come into the main cell at the prison.

Before then…

Tommy stopped himself. He doesn’t think about Tubbo.

Dream walked up behind him while he farmed his carrots. It had been a long time since Dream had snuck up on him, because Dream had taught Tommy how to not be snuck up on. He was mildly surprised to see Dream there at that time, but it wasn’t the first time he’d stuck around in the evening.

“Tommy, I have a task for you tomorrow.”

He kept farming his carrots, because he didn’t want Dream to be mad at him for stopping. He was interested, though.

Dream picked some carrots and started snacking on them. “I’m going to take you back to the Dream SMP.”

Tommy froze, and Dream chuckled.

“Are you surprised? I told you why I was training you a while ago, remember? You’re going to help me with something.”

That was… vague, but everything was vague with Dream. Tommy chose to focus on the fact that he’d be going back.

He might see someone. Someone other than Dream. Maybe he could stay there, convince Dream not to take him back to Logstedshire.

“Here, take a break from farming,” Dream said, and gently pulled him away from the carrots.

(Tommy had gotten used to Dream’s touch. The man, who had never been very physically intimate with anyone, even his best friends, was constantly hugging Tommy, or offering him help up if he’d managed to knock Tommy down while sparring, or placing a hand on his shoulder while talking. Like he wanted to remind Tommy of his presence).

Dream led him over to their house, an upgrade from the tents he’d built months ago. It was ugly, cobblestone and spruce, but it was warmer than the tents had been. Dream brought Tommy inside, over to where Dream kept his bed and chests, a part of the house Tommy wasn’t allowed near without permission.

Dream opened one of his chests and pulled out a set of glowing netherite armor, with a matching axe, sword, and shield. “You’re going to need this for tomorrow. You’re good with what you have here, but not good enough to take on several people, if you have to.”

Is that a possibility for whatever Dream’s gonna have him do? Tommy isn’t sure what he’ll do if Dream has the entire server turn against him. Fight back, he supposes. He doesn’t trust himself to speak anymore, so talking his way out wouldn’t be an option.

He hadn’t spoken, even to Dream, in two months.

He took the supplies as Dream passed them over, and his eyes widened as he examined the enchantments. Everything was entirely maxed out, and it made Tommy’s pulse quicken. He… he would be a formidable enemy dressed in this armor, he realized. With his new combat abilities, he could probably take out almost anyone on the server.

Dream then passed him a stack (a stack!) of golden apples, a single enchanted golden apple, and three potions: regeneration, instant health, and speed. “These are for emergencies,” Dream explained, “And they are  _ not _ to be used against me. Neither is the rest of your supplies. If you try to fight me using this,” Dream pointed to Tommy’s new items, “I will blow it up. I will destroy a maxed out set of armor if you force me to, Tommy, so don’t make me do it.”

Tommy nodded slowly.

That seemed to satisfy Dream, who closed the chest. “Right. Now, I think you had some farming to be doing?”

Tommy got the hint and left the house, returning to his crops. As he farmed, he looked up at the pillar, processing what had just occurred.

_ I’m not going to need you _ , he thought at the pillar.  _ I’m leaving here, tomorrow. And if I do what Dream says _ …

He paused, then allowed himself to break his own rule.  _ If I do what Dream says, maybe he’ll finally bring Tubbo back _ .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is from another pov! I haven't decided who it's gonna be yet because I have a few options but it's not gonna be Tommy. We gotta check up on everyone else, y'know.


	3. Blame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack chapter because I say so

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't really like this chapter but I had to establish some things. I wanted more interaction between Jack and (spoilers) but that'll have to wait.

It had been easy to blame Tommy before Tubbo died.

It made sense to blame Tommy. He was the cause of everything that went wrong on the server. His dumb discs were worthless circles of plastic that Tommy had decided should determine the fate of everyone on the server. He was exiled because of his own actions, when he came back he was siding with  _ Technoblade _ , and if it wasn’t for him, L’manburg wouldn’t have been blown up. Hell, L’manburg wouldn’t have gone to shit in the first place! When it was blown up the first time, Wilbur did it to hurt Tommy, and it dragged everyone else down, too!

It had been easy to blame Tommy before. But now…

Jack paused in his tracks, feeling the snow fall against his face.

It had been months since Tubbo died.

Jack knew it was Tommy’s fault.

Jack had only joined Snowchester to get close to Tommy. If he got Tommy to trust him, he could kill Tommy easily. But now, with Tubbo dead, Jack felt a sense of duty to Snowchester. To Tubbo’s memory. He’d been working hard on building it up the way Tubbo had imagined. The nukes were kept safe, locked away and deactivated, but the town was developed... kinda. Jack was still the only resident.

He kept walking, away from the town.

Tubbo was dead. No matter how hard Jack tried, Snowchester would never be what Tubbo had created it for, because with no Tubbo there, it wasn’t Snowchester.

Jack reached the water and got into a boat. He headed towards the center of the server.

Jack knew he hadn’t been Tubbo’s closest friend. He knew that Tubbo likely hadn’t thought much of him. But Jack felt like he was the only one committed to keeping Tubbo’s memory alive.

He reached land.

Tubbo hadn’t appeared as a ghost. The theory that he’d heard others whisper in hushed tones was that Tubbo simply didn’t have any unfinished business to come back for. Jack knew that wasn’t true.

He climbed a hill, nearing Tommy’s old home, and-

He saw something strange, in the distance.

Where the tree standing over Tubbo’s grave should be, there was… was that a crater?

His pace quickening, Jack rushed over to the site of Tubbo’s grave. As he neared, his suspicions were proven, and his heart thudded.

Someone had blown up Tubbo’s grave. Tommy’s house, too.

Jack felt sick. Who could have done such a thing?! What kind of monster would do this?!

As he thought that, the answer came to him. There was only one kind of monster who would have done this: Dream.

Shakily backing away, Jack ran down the Prime Path. He needed to find someone else. Something had to be done about this.

_ No one will help you _ , his mind said,  _ They’re all too scared to defy Dream, now. _

“Shut up,” he told his mind.

He darted around vines, ignoring the way the Egg had spread so far, looking around wildly for anyone else.

(He ran into the Community House, not seeing the button that had caused the incident.)

No one was around, he realized. He spun around in all directions, trying to think of where to go. Eret’s castle, maybe… but he hadn’t seen Eret in a while. He’d barely seen anyone around here in a while, with the Egg spreading, and the painful atmosphere caused by Tubbo’s absence. He turned away from that direction, until he faced the portal. He’d probably have to travel to find someone, he realized, and headed towards the portal.

Before he reached it, a loud whooshing sound filled his ears. A green man stumbled out of the portal, though fortunately it was not Dream.

Sam, armorless and bloody, collapsed on the ground in front of Jack.

“What the fuck?” Jack said instinctively, and rushed forward to help Sam out. He didn’t really know the man well, and he kinda creeped him out some, what with the whole prison thing, but hey, he had no reason to deny him his aid when he was clearly suffering, and as far as he knew, he was the first one to see Sam in a long time.

He didn’t have any health or regen pots on him, he realized, and if Sam was unconscious he couldn’t eat a gapple, although Jack was lacking those too. He gently rolled the man over, though, and was shocked to see that Sam was, in fact, conscious, although he seemed badly hurt.

“Shit,” Jack said, and handed over a few pieces of steak, helping Sam sit up on the blackstone, which was uncomfortably hot after hours in the sun, but neither was particularly concerned about that at the moment. Sam weakly nibbled at the steak, silent, and breathing heavily.

Jack looked over the man, assessing the extent of his wounds, and found that aside from a nasty looking cut near Sam’s shoulder and another on his leg, his injuries were manageable. What concerned Jack more was the fact that Sam seemed frail and thin, like he’d been starved. He might not have known Sam well, but he knew Sam could hold his own in a fight. Now, though, he looked like he could be easily defeated by a small child.

“What happened to you?” Jack asked as Sam finished the steak.

Sam closed his eyes. “I escaped.”

“Escaped what?”

“Dream,” Sam said, and didn’t elaborate. He rocked forward slightly, looking like he was about to fall over.

Jack made a decision. “Okay, you need to rest. Are you okay to walk to Snowchester?”

“What’s Snowchester?” Sam asked, and shit, had Sam been missing for that long? Nearly everyone knew about Snowchester now, right? Well, maybe some people still didn’t. Jack honestly didn’t know.

“It’s where I’m living,” he told Sam. “It isn’t too far.”

Sam nodded, and Jack helped him to his feet. With the food, Sam’s injuries seemed less severe, but he still needed sleep. Sliding Sam’s arm on the opposite side from the shoulder injury around his own shoulders, he began walking back down the Prime Path. It was only then that he remembered why he’d headed towards the Community House in the first place.

“Shit,” he muttered, then he looked over at Sam. “Uh, look, Sam, something bad happened. To, uh, Tubbo’s- Tubbo’s grave.”

Sam’s eyes widened slightly, though he seemed too out of it to fully react. Having warned his companion, Jack continued their journey, feeling a sense of dread as he approached the new crater.

Sam gasped slightly when he saw it but made no comment. He simply looked away, and Jack followed suit.

The rest of the trek to Snowchester was uneventful. Sam nearly passed out at one point, allowing his full weight to fall onto Jack and nearly sending them both to the ground, but aside from that, they made it in one piece.

Jack set Sam up in his own bed, and the man was out immediately. Jack took the opportunity to prepare some potions for his new… roommate, apparently.

Shit.

* * *

Sam got better.

Jack hadn’t been concerned about his ability to recover, but it was still relieving when he could no longer see Sam’s rib cage. Sam had stayed in Jack’s house despite having been fully recovered months ago, which Jack had to admit was nice.

What was not nice was the story Sam had told him once he was healed enough.

_ “I built the prison, but it was always his. I was wrong to assume I had any power over what it would be used for, or how it would be run. For weeks, I was only allowed to interact with Tommy under Dream’s conditions, and once he realized I was trying to find a way to get Tommy out, he trapped me in my own home. He essentially built a mini version of the prison just for me, and it was nearly as inescapable.” _

While Jack didn’t agree with attempts to rescue Tommy, he kept that to himself. What mattered was that Sam confirmed what Jack (and the rest of the server) had been afraid of: Dream had full control over everything.

They had determined together that Dream was the only person who would have blown up Tubbo’s grave, but they still didn’t know why. They’d spent the past several months working together to try to gather enough resources to stand a chance against Dream, because something had to be done.

(They knew they had no chance).

Since Tubbo’s death, everyone had scattered across the server. The spreading of the Egg hadn’t helped, although it didn’t seem like the biggest threat, somehow. Jack and Sam would go long stretches without seeing anyone, and outside of Techno, Phil, and Ranboo, who everyone was pretty sure had teamed up somewhere in the arctic, and the remainder of the Badlands, Bad and Ant, everyone was on their own.

Snowchester was just Jack and Sam. And they needed help.

Which led to Jack suggesting they look for Niki. No one had heard from her in a long time, and Jack missed her. Sam had pointed out that she wasn’t the strongest fighter, but Jack had argued that she was resourceful and more capable than Sam gave her credit for. So the pair left Snowchester to search around the Dream SMP, hoping to find something.

There wasn’t much around there anymore, which meant not much had changed. At some point, the crater where Tubbo’s grave had once been had been filled, probably by Puffy. Flowers had been planted, along with a sapling. Tommy’s house hadn’t been restored, but there was a sign over its former site that Jack didn’t bother to read.

“So where do we start?” Sam asked as they walked away from the area. “Do you have any idea where Niki would be?”

Jack didn’t respond. He didn’t have a clue where to find her, but he was going to look anyways. He headed towards the ruins of L’manburg. He didn’t expect her to be there, but he had to start somewhere.

Sam followed him, but spoke up after a few moments. “We could split up. Cover more ground.”

Jack nodded, and Sam headed off.

He felt a lot of things, seeing L’manburg’s ruins. Most of them were negative. He didn’t think Niki would be near here, but something drew him to the city that no longer existed. He walked over to the edge and stared down.

Bedrock.

Jack frowned, and shook his head, backing away. He didn’t need to dwell on the past. He looked up from the pit, and movement caught his eye.

Two hooded figures, one red and one green, wearing fully enchanted netherite, moved around the opposite edge of the crater.

Jack ducked behind a ruined structure, watching the figures move purposefully in the direction of the Community House. When he was sure he wouldn’t be seen, he followed them.

The one figure was Dream. Jack was nearly certain of that. But who was the other? He couldn’t tell. Was it someone infected by the Egg?

They passed through the Community house, heading to Eret’s castle. Jack looked around as he followed them, finding no evidence of Sam’s presence. He was concerned about Dream and his companion, but he was wearing some of the best armor he’d ever owned, thanks to Sam. He was convinced he could at least make an escape if something went wrong.

The pair entered Eret’s castle, and Jack lost track of them. He couldn’t risk being caught, so he had to stay far enough back that he lost sight of them, which left him cautiously searching the castle. He didn’t particularly want to confront them, if possible, but they were obviously up to something. Stealing? But what could Dream need from Eret?

Someone screamed.

Jack felt himself running, searching every room quickly before he found the correct one, which left him frozen in the doorframe.

The red figure, whose hood obscured his features, was panting heavily, a netherite axe impaled in Eret’s chest. The king was dead, Jack knew, their body limp and bloodied. His corpse was already fading, and Jack remembered that she had been on three lives, last he’d heard. Eret was respawning.

Dream was also in the room, standing behind the red figure, and he turned quickly to face Jack. His face was hidden by his mask, but Jack knew he was smiling, and he laughed in a way that chilled every bone in Jack’s body. “You shouldn’t have followed us, Jack.”

His mind said to run but he couldn’t move.

Dream took a step towards him, and Jack’s eyes were glued to him. He missed the way the red figure trembled as Eret’s body finished disintegrating.

“I didn’t want to have to target you so soon, but you leave us no choice,” Dream said, and Jack couldn’t breathe.

Dream was gonna kill him.

He had three lives still, but… he knew well how dying felt, and he wasn’t eager to experience it again.

Dream chuckled again. “Kill him,” he ordered, and the red figure stood up, holding their axe. But they hesitated.

“Wh-” Jack tried to say, but he couldn’t form words to ask a question.

Dream turned towards the red figure. “Come on, it’s not like it’s permanent. He’ll come back, like Eret. This is a test, remember?” Jack felt like he was hearing a conversation not meant for him, but he couldn’t focus on that. He tried to think of a way out, hoping that Sam had heard Eret’s scream and was coming but knowing it was unlikely. “You know what happens if you don’t listen.”

The red figure hung their head, like they were defeated. They swapped out their axe for a sword, and Jack backed up, shaking his head. “No. No, I’m not gonna let you fucking kill me!” He retrieved his own sword, and when the red figure swung, he matched it.

What he didn’t match was the knee to his groin that made him double over.

Something hit his back hard and he toppled over, and before he could process what happened, a sword pierced through a gap in his chestplate, through his lung.

The battle was over before it started.

He distantly heard Dream praising his companion as he fought to stay conscious. He knew he wasn’t going to survive the injury, but he needed to know who had killed him. He painfully rolled over, looking up at the hooded figure, whose hood had come off during the fight.

Jack died before he could gasp, but when he awoke in his bed, he sat up immediately, disbelieving what he’d seen.

Because there was no way that  _ Tommy _ , the guy in prison, who lost every fight he’d ever been in, was the one to just take both his and Eret’s lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why did Tommy listen to Dream and kill Eret and Jack? That'll be answered in the next chapter. He's having a rough time.


	4. The price of defiance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream takes Tommy on a trip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS  
> \- death (rip)  
> \- physical abuse  
> \- manipulation  
> \- everything from other chapters basically  
> \- mention of slavery (in reference to villagers)
> 
> I don't like this chapter. It doesn't matter too much though I guess.  
> I feel like Tommy's too OOC but that's because he's not talking. He's gonna work up the courage to start talking again eventually but right now his brain is so far beyond the point of being able to process what he's experiencing that he's found it easier to just stay silent. Especially since everything he'd said was leading to punishment for a period of time. He has a lot of thoughts, but he's more or less afraid to speak at this point.

Tommy was gonna be sick.

He stared at Jack’s corpse, disintegrating alongside Eret’s, unable to tear his gaze away.

_ Holy Primes, he’d killed them. He’d actually killed them. _

He was shaking. There was no way this was possible. Sure, Eret had been caught off guard and armorless, but they still outclassed Tommy in terms of skill by far. And Jack had been given far more reaction time than Eret, yet his body lay bloodied and limp at his feet as well.

Tommy didn’t hear Dream’s praise. All he could hear was the sound of his own heartbeat thudding in his ears.

He…

The training he’d done with Dream had all been theory. He was… he was learning self defense because Dream said everyone was going to hate him. He was becoming stronger because he needed to protect himself. That- That’s what Dream had said.

So why had he just killed Eret and Jack when neither of them had done a thing to him?

Dream’s hand was on his shoulder, and Tommy flinched violently. Fear at what he’d just done thundered through his whole body, and he felt his breathing quicken.

Whispered apologies flooded out of his mouth, the first words he’d uttered in months.

Dream placed his hand back on Tommy’s shoulder, and this time, he forced himself not to react. “It’s okay, Tommy. You did a good job! I’m proud of you. Now, let’s go home before we run into any more trouble.”

Home. Logstedshire.

Tommy didn’t want to go to Logstedshire.

He followed Dream anyways.

* * *

“So Tommy, I was thinking we could go do some trading with villagers today.”

It had been a week since Tommy had killed Eret and Jack. When they’d returned to Logstedshire, Dream had picked up their routine as if they’d never left. As if nothing had happened. Tommy, on the other hand, was trying to process what he’d done.

Or, more accurately, try to avoid processing what he’d done.

Dream had told him, once they’d gotten home and Tommy had devolved into a sobbing mess, that his actions had been necessary. According to Dream, Eret had been trying to steal the revival book because he wanted to revive Wilbur. If Eret had stolen the book, then Dream wouldn’t be able to bring Tubbo back, so Eret had to be shown that he couldn’t get away with trying to steal from Dream.

Then Jack had walked in, and seen that Tommy had killed her. If Jack had drawn too much attention to the incident, Dream said, there would have just been more people who they’d have had to kill.

It was only doing what was necessary, Dream reassured Tommy.

Tommy wasn’t sure he believed that. He just couldn’t let himself believe otherwise, though.

Neither of them had been on one life, he reassured himself. They were both okay. It wasn’t like Tommy had done  _ that _ much to them.

_ Yes, he had, _ a voice in the back of his mind told him. He tried to ignore it.

Trading. He was going to go trade with Dream.

He followed the man’s lead, heading out from Logstedshire, not towards the Dream SMP but not directly away from it, either. More like… to the right. Yeah.

It made sense in his mind.

They’d left early in the morning, and it took until the sun was close to setting to reach wherever Dream was headed. An innocent looking hill was dug into, and Tommy caught a glimpse of a staircase, before he froze.

Tommy froze as well, because he heard it, too. Footsteps.

Dream quickly rehid the staircase while Tommy retrieved the netherite axe he’d been allowed to keep. However, while Dream was in his full armor, Tommy had been forced to surrender his own set to Dream for “safe-keeping”, so he was in simple iron.

He examined the surroundings. They were in a light forest, with the scattered hills providing more cover than the trees themselves. It left limited hiding places, and soon enough Tommy caught a flash of someone’s armor reflecting the golden evening sunlight into his eyes.

He pointed, but Dream was already facing in their stalker’s direction, too. Stupid of him to think Dream hadn’t already located them. He learned everything from Dream, so of course Dream would be better than him at it.

“Come on out,” Dream called. “You don’t want us to have to hunt you down.”

To Tommy’s surprise, Sam was the one who emerged, fully armored but holding his hands up in surrender. His eyes were dark and angry, but they flashed with something unreadable when they met Tommy’s gaze for the briefest of seconds. After that, the creeper hybrid kept his eyes set on Dream.

“So,” Dream said. “You thought you could follow us.”

“It took you a lot longer to realize I was here than I was expecting,” Sam replied, his voice steady but his tone venomous.

Dream chuckled slightly. “I was testing my mentee here,” he said lightly with a gesture towards Tommy. “I guess he needs some more training.”

“Yeah, about that,” Sam said, adjusting his grip on his axe. “I heard from Jack that  _ TommyInnit _ of all people committed two murders mere moments apart. Now, whether that’s true or not, I  _ very much doubt _ he would do such a thing unless he was forced into it. After all, Jack also informed me that you, Dream, were there with him, encouraging him.”

Tommy didn’t react. He didn’t really have a way to react to that. Dream, however, laughed more. “I didn’t force Tommy into anything. He chose to help me. Right, Tommy?”

Numb, Tommy nodded. That was right. He chose this. He, he chose this, because…

Because…

Right, his rule. He knew why he chose this. He wasn’t allowed to think about that, though.

Sam sighed. “Dream, you fucked up big time, imprisoning me like that. And I should never have let you lock Tommy in prison.” He shifted, as if he was preparing for combat, and Tommy adjusted his own stance. Sam, though, looked over at Tommy again, and he realized what the unreadable thing had been.

Guilt.

That was weird.

“Tommy, I’m sorry for letting him do this to you. Jack, he didn’t want to trust me about you, he blames you, but- but I don’t. I know you don’t want this. I- I know you wouldn’t do this, wouldn’t side with Dream willingly, if only out of respect for Tubbo’s memory-”

CLANG!

Tommy’s axe met the metal of Sam’s netherite sword. The hybrid had barely enough time to react enough to save himself, and his eyes widened as he held Tommy back.

Tommy, blinded by rage, shoved Sam hard, making the man lose balance. He swung hard with his axe and landed a hit on Sam’s side, though Sam countered, piercing through Tommy’s armor with his sword and injuring his shoulder. Tommy kneed Sam in the gut and swung his axe again as the man doubled over, landing a hit on Sam’s back, though his armor negated most of the damage that would have been done otherwise. Sam collapsed, but rolled upon landing, recovering despite his injuries.

“Tommy, stop!” Sam shouted, but Tommy wasn’t listening. He rushed the man again, who was more prepared this time, meeting the axe with a shield he produced and managing to land another hit on Tommy, this time grazing his side. Tommy shoved him back, though, pinning him against a tree, the shield held between them still. Tommy lifted his axe above the shield and pressed it to Sam’s throat.

“Do. Not.  _ Ever. _ Speak about him.”

Sam’s face was pure fear. Tommy ignored the ache in his arm and shoulder and pressed the axe harder, watching as a line of blood formed.

He heard Dream laughing, far away. “Do it, Tommy,” Dream encouraged.

He pressed harder, and heard Sam gasp, the cut deepening.

His vision blurred, and he stopped pressing.

He pulled the axe away, stepping back from Sam.

Tears began falling, and he collapsed to the ground at the same time as Sam, who began coughing and clutching his throat.

“Tommy, what the hell? You had him!” Dream shouted as Sam downed several potions now that he had the chance to.

Tommy didn’t know how to react. He couldn’t think. He- he’d almost just killed Sam.

What the fuck.

And Sam… he was still pissed at him. How dare he use… use  _ his _ name against him… but he’d almost killed Sam for that. He’d almost done it. He wasn’t entirely sure how he managed to stop.

Dream had approached, and he stood over Sam, wielding his own axe. Sam, who was still trying to catch his breath, rolled, holding his shield above him for protection, but Dream cut through it completely, axe embedding itself in Sam’s chest.

Tommy watched through his tears, shaking as Sam’s body went still before starting to disintegrate.

He couldn’t breathe.

Dream turned to him, and Tommy didn’t need to see his face to feel his fury. “Tommy, what the hell is wrong with you?!”

He somehow knew the hit was coming. It didn’t even really hurt. He was too numb. He let it knock him to the ground, but apparently Dream wasn’t satisfied with that reaction.

“What is going on, Tommy?! I trained you better than this! Get up, right now, and fight me!”

On autopilot, Tommy rose to his feet and retrieved his axe. Before he could properly stand his ground, Dream’s sword was piercing his side.

He gasped at the pain, but Dream more or less shoved a golden apple down his throat. He felt the stab closing artificially, and Dream was attacking again.

This time, he managed to counter for an instance, before Dream cut deep into his leg. He cried out, collapsing onto one knee, and felt Dream stab him in the back. Another gapple.

This continued until the sun had vanished and Sam’s body had disappeared. The gapples had kept him from death, but Tommy felt the pains all over his abused body and the sickness from relying on too many gapples at once. He collapsed, and Dream glared down at him.

“It’s like you forgot everything I taught you, Tommy. Do we have to start your training over from the start?”

Tommy shook his head.

“Okay, then prove it.” Dream grabbed Tommy, pulling him up from the ground and over to where the stairs had been hidden. Dream removed the dirt once more, dragging him down the staircase, and shoved him into a small room with two beds, a chest, and some other essentials. “The next time I tell you to kill someone, you do it without question.”

Tommy nodded silently. He focused on the stairs, which led lower, and the telltale sounds of villagers. Had Dream enslaved some? It wouldn’t surprise him.

He felt sick for so many reasons that his body eventually gave in. He collapsed on the bed and was unconscious within moments.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the recent Tommy streams huh? Also Ranboo out here making me cry over a flower

**Author's Note:**

> I really want to actually finish this fic, which is what I said about the last multi-chaptered fic I started, so we'll see how this goes.


End file.
